HSTTW SUPPORTS PALESTINIAN REFUGEES FROM SYRIA IN JORDAN
03 March 2014
Amman
In Amman, Sven Berthelsen, Deputy Director of Operations for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, accepted a generous contribution of US$ 50,000 from Help Syria Through the Winter Foundation (HSTTW), a humanitarian relief foundation from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Dedicated to responding to the essential needs of refugees who have fled the ongoing conflict in Syria, the funds granted by HSTTW will provide emergency cash grants to hundreds of vulnerable Palestine refugees from Syria in Jordan to help them meet their most immediate needs. The cash grants are designed to respond to individual or family crises and will be issued on a case-by-case basis starting in March 2014.
HSTTW is partnering with UNRWA for the first time in Jordan, having supported the Agency’s humanitarian assistance in Syria since 2013. There are now 11,500 PRS recorded with UNRWA in Jordan. The vast majority lives in poverty and relies on UNRWA’s humanitarian assistance to meet their relief, education and health needs.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.
Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at US$ 71.5 million.
For more information, please contact:
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Christopher Gunness UNRWA Spokesperson Mobile: +972 (0)54 240 2659 Office: +972 (0)2 589 0267 |
Sami Mshasha UNRWA Arabic Spokesperson Mobile: +972 (0)54 216 8295 Office: +972 (0)2 589 0724 |
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Country: Jordan, Syria
Subject: Armed conflict, Assistance, Humanitarian relief, Living conditions, Middle East situation, Refugee camps, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 03/03/2014